Berlin's troubled airport faces delay, for the fifth time

26th May 2016, 0 comments

Berlin's long-delayed airport is expected to miss yet another deadline for its opening, the German capital's mayor admitted Thursday.

The BER airport on the city's southern outskirts was due to open in late 2017, but Michael Mueller told city officials that "as it stands today, I cannot rule out that the opening will have to be postponed to 2018".

The international airport was initially planned for 2012, but it has turned into a multi-billion-euro planning disaster and a running joke for many Berliners, while tarnishing Germany's reputation for engineering prowess.

Its construction has been plagued by technical problems, including flaws with the fire safety and smoke extraction system, and structural problems in the terminal roof.

The budget, which was initially set at 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion), has tripled to more than 5 billion euros.